Here's how you can avoid being a victim of an internet dating scam

Have you ever been a victim of internet scams, especially when it comes to dating? So many people are caught out each day. Whether it be trolls or scams asking you for money, we have a few tips to help you prevent these.

1. Look for any other descriptions that don’t add up to the profile photo. This is especially important when it comes to matching their profile pictures.

Why not ask them to have a lice chat with you? Facebook and Instagram offer live video-calling. This will definitely help and clear up any uncertainty.  

2. Professional photos are a red flag. Look for amateur photos and more than one. How do you do that? Well, use Google Goggles search on your phone to see if the photo they’ve shared with you can be spotted elsewhere online.

3. Look for detail in photos. Wedding rings, locations, activities, time of day, how they are dressed in order to see if it matches. Someone claiming that a photo is from a July 4th fireworks party, who is dressed in a fur coat, in daylight, might be a dead giveaway that someone is lying.

4. You need to see if the same information appears in other places or has been copied from someone else by searching for it online. Out-of-country scams often slip up here, revealing inconsistent information such as landmarks and cultural events that don’t add up. For example, someone claiming to be from Joburg who isn’t familiar with the iconic Maboneng when questioned is likely a liar.

5. Check their spelling and grammar. A line that sounds like it could be from someone in a far-off country but portraying themselves to be in your same city will usually have a local dialect misfire.

Tip: Always create and use a unique email address that is different than your personal and professional addresses when setting up a dating website profile.

6. A catfish usually makes the first move. They create a dreamy profile that may sound like everything you want. They play on your sympathy, your feelings and strike when you are the most vulnerable or when you are caught up in the romance.

7. Inquire about where they are from, and verify landmarks and spellings of cities online. Blatant errors could mean it’s a scam. Catfishers like to ask you a lot of questions, but seldom let you go deep into their lives, coming up with excuses about why they are reluctant to offer more personal information about themselves.

8. If they ask for money, lock them out of your life. Stop communication immediately. Although most catfishers are not after money, this one should be a wake-up call to a scam.

9. If someone has no Facebook page, but they are sophisticated enough to create an online dating profile, be warned. Also look out for potential fake Facebook pages.